Despite Their Thoughts
by clanmcg24
Summary: Viper thinks everyone treats the panda worse than he should be treated... And maybe a little more... What IS she thinking? Written for everyone at 'the forums' Just written because of the lack of popularity of ViperXPo. *working on re-plotting*
1. Chapter 1

"I'm sorry, brother, I thought you said you were ready!" I instantly reminded him. Mockery? No... Well, I guess so. I had to show the panda no mercy. It wasn't like any of the others accepted him, and it was my duty as a student to follow my master. Master Shifu, the greatest of all Kung Fu teachers, was _enjoying_ making this poor excuse for a mammal feel the pain. It disgusted me.

Sure enough, I couldn't say a word. Anything against your master was taken very sternly; reason to get thrown out even.

I was so worried for the guy. It wasn't his fault that Oogway saw something in him. Maybe he was destined to be great, though I seriously doubt it's to be a warrior.

I leaned over him, keeping my balance through coiling my tail behind me. It wasn't as hard as some people think, moving about without any arms, wings, or even fins. Sure, it makes some things more difficult, but not impossible. You just had to be determined.

Cautiously I approached the dazed panda, who had precariously landed on his head. Oh gods I hope I hadn't knocked him out. But, peering closer, his eyes were wide and shining, as if he were a toddler glaring down a toy isle. Energy seemed to boil out of him.

"...That was AWESOME! Let's go again!"

_What?_ Had I just heard him correctly? I gazed closer to him, awestruck. Had I actually heard right? Sure enough, he was conscious. He even did the hand part of the bow, while on his head! Hmm, he was quite obviously determined.

The word struck again. Determined.

A minute or so earlier, Crane had pulled him out of a failed split. Of course, I've never tried a split before. But I was around when Tigress, Mantis, Crane, and Monkey each worked on their own. None of them got very far on it for at least a week. Of course, it wasn't very far into our training that we worked with stretching and forms. It's the base of many types of fighting, being able to command your body effortlessly which direction to go. Some, like me, naturally don't have to worry about all of that. Realizing just the amount of effort this panda was giving, I questioned my own thoughts again.

He wasn't just a big fat panda. Sure, I joked with the others, about the only thing he cared about was when his next meal was coming. But how could I so stubbornly shoot this guy down? Didn't I learn anything about giving everyone a chance? Isn't that the reason we fight evil?

I sighed to myself, shuffling away as Monkey pulled out his fighting staff and another for the panda. Something inside of me didn't rest well. Master Shifu wanted to see this poor guy suffer, for a choice that wasn't even his. Sure, he could quit. But what would that say to the village about him? Who would want to eat at a failure's noodle shop?

THUD!

The panda's body hit the dirt, his pole smacking him once more on its way down. After a moment, he popped back up and bowed. Unsatisfied, Master Shifu again snapped his fingers, and told Crane that he was next.

Do you know how humiliating it is to have to pick someone up, just to get them to stand on the edge of the Jade Tortoise? Because of his weight, the instrument continually fell over as he tried to get up onto its edge. Crane stood on his edge, watching the array of failure flutter across from the panda. Monkey held the Tortoise still while Tigress shoveled him onto the equipment. It took her a little coaxing to realize that she was the only one able to do it. I couldn't for quite obvious reasons, no arms. Master Shifu, too, was short. Mantis, didn't even get a part in the reasoning.

All Crane had to do was sit and wait for the panda to move. Gravity performed its wonder, and pulled the oaf down, into the Tortoise, where he bounced around for a bit, until Monkey grabbed hold of it again.

I was again disturbed when Master decided that the panda hadn't felt enough pain, and instead had Mantis 'warm up' on him. By now, I wasn't seeing my master as a very caring person, even though this 'father figure' had been THE example for an uncountable amount of years. All he seemed to want right now was watch the panda feel pain.

Was it revenge Shifu sought? Did he feel offended when this creature fell to the ground in a ball of fire, and claimed the Dragon Warrior as his title?

Even as Mantis pulled the monochrome mammal down to the ground, the panda did not falter. Never once did he complain, he merely took it all. Invited it even, as he again signaled to Master Shifu that he could continue.

Furious, Master Shifu snapped. He declared he would be the next to fight the panda. I glanced at Crane, who shared an equally worried look. The panda's eye shimmered, and Master Shifu began the assault.

I hid my eyes. As children, we were in practically the same situation, naught but determined. However, Master Shifu never did anything like this to us. In all honestly, if he had, I wouldn't be here. I doubt any of us would have continued if he had treated us the way he treated this panda.

At last, Master Shifu delivered his final blow, punting the panda out of the palace.

The Five of us walked out the door he had just been kicked through.

"If he's smart, he won't come back up those steps," Tigress murmered.

"But, he will," Monkey confirmed the panda's unwavering perseverance.

"He's not gonna quit, is he?" I shared my thoughts with all but Tigress, who had promptly left.

"He's not gonna quit bouncing, I'll tell you that." I hissed at Mantis, who had presented this disrespectful comment.

"You know what, Mantis?" I snapped at him. I got Crane and Monkey's attention as well, surprised at my outburst. "You're going to give him acupuncture later with me. I think he's gotten enough pain from Shifu; he deserves a little pain relief, especially if he comes back up all those stairs on his own."

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Ow!" the panda, Po as we later found out, cried. "I thought you said acupuncture would make me feel better!?!" He winced as Mantis shoved another pin in.

"Trust me, it will," the insect confirmed, "it's just not easy finding the right nerve points under all this...-"

"Fat?" Po asked sensitivly.

"Fur! I was gonna say fur!"

"Sure you were."

The bug continued, "Who am I to judge a warrior based on his size. I mean, look at me." The panda glanced over the wrong shoulder. "I'm over here," Mantis explained before pinning the panda again, causing Po to shout again.

"Maybe you should take a look at this, again?" I asked, trying to make sure Po was feeling as little pain as possible. I held up the chart with my tail, and Mantis peered around Po's head to look at it.

"Oh, okay!" he said, either seeing something new, or just trying to make me feel better. He proceeded to puncture the panda twice more, before retrieving a few more needles.

Po sighed, obviously troubled by something. Part of me knew what he was getting to.

"I know Master Shifu's tryin' to inspire me and all, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was trying to get rid of me!" He tried to play it off as a joke, laughing to himself. Mantis and I merely stared, surprised that he had realized this much sooner than we had anticipated. I smiled, trying to hide my worry.

"I know he can seem kinda heartless," Mantis reminded the panda, before stabbing him with another needle. "But you know he wasn't always like that."

"According to legend, there was once a time when Master Shifu actually used to smile!" I returned, pushing the grim subject of Shifu's abuse off.

"No!" exclaimed Po.

"But that was before..." I trailed off, touching the panda's extreme curiosity. He leaned closer to me, and egged me to go on.

"Before what?" he pushed.

CREAK! The door behind me opened, revealing Tigress. "Before Tai Lung."

_Dang it!_ I thought to myself. _I wanted to tell him the secret! She always has to steal the spotlight, doesn't she?_

- - - -- - - - -

**(Author's notes) The beginning of my ViPo! AHA! This fic was actually asked for at a forum, 'cause no one had seen a ViperXPo yet. Unfortunately (well, not unfortunate, but still), I was beaten to it by the writer now known as BuddhaBooty (Merk). Merk writes better than me anyway... No grudge or anything ^^ I loved it. Oh well. Now it's just being done 'cause the muse is still there. I shall warn you that updates will be slow, and this isn't planned to go through very many chapters, so...**


	2. Chapter 1, Part 2

**Chapter 1, Part 2**

Tigress quickly chronicled the events of Tai Lung's betrayal, while I merely sat and glared at her. I wanted to be the one to tell Po, I wanted to earn his trust, to open up to him. And yet the one who seemed to despise him most out of all us decides to open up to him first.

"... or since," Tigress finished, looked down as she recalled her past. _Is she trying to slide her emotions into this? _I wondered to myself. _She doesn't do that with anyone!_

However, she quickly tried to cover it up, by making Po feel like he kept Shifu from fixing his problems. "...And now, he's stuck, with you, a big, fat panda who treats it like a joke," she spat the tail end of her verbal attack.

Little did Tigress know that Mantis had resumed his acupuncture procedure. As soon as she completed the assault:

"Doi!" Po snapped, seeming to mock the tiger. His face twisted as though he wanted to further insult her.

"Oh that is it!" Tigress shouted, unsheathing her claws as she prepared to literally rip him to shreds.

I froze, astounded. Granted, I hadn't known the panda that long, but I wouldn't ever have expected such a reaction from him.

Thankfully, Mantis jumped in, explaining, "Wait! My fault! I accidentally tweaked his facial nerve!" As if to confirm this, the panda fell over. "...And may have also stopped his heart."

Tigress scoffed and left the room. I sighed, and slithered over to the motionless panda while Mantis began yanking the needles out of Po's back. Slowly I lifted his head with my tail, and stared deep into his eyes. They fluttered a few times before setting lazily about two-thirds open.

"How we feeling?" I gently asked him.

"Loads better, thank you," Po returned, smiling as I grinned back at him.

Mantis coughed cautiously, staring awkwardly at the panda and I.

"What?" Po and I implored at the same instant.

- - - - -

She was running. Toward the trouble. Toward Tai Lung. Alone.

Worst battle strategy ever.

"Don't try and stop me!" that arrogant tiger yelled back at me, as though she were offended. The other four of us, that would be Crane, Mantis, Monkey, and I, followed her. It didn't take long before we realized where she was heading. Tigress had left the dinner table as soon as Master Shifu left the room. With her short circuits, we knew right away what was going on. Now, she raced on, intent to let our conversation end. But that wasn't why I went on this cat chase over all these roofs.

"Were not trying to stop you!" I shouted back.

"What!?!" She gasped, hesitating slightly before jumping to the next roof.

"Were coming with you!" _Damn, girl, do you think I'm going to let you have all the credit?_ I swear, Tigress must have thought that she could just take the panda as her own, especially the way she was playing hard-to-get earlier when we were eating. I guess it was true, that he was attracted to her, considering the way he watched her earlier.

I don't know why we decided to race off and fight Tai Lung, Master Shifu clearly said we would loose the first time Tigress asked. But still, I couldn't just let her waltz off and show off for the new guy.

So we raced on only recognizing one another by subconsciously maneuvering about them. It was probably to the greater good that I didn't speak, for if we had spoken, I don't think that I would have been able to guard my tongue very well. Plus I don't think Tigress would have appreciated me yelling at her for trying to steal my guy, considering the lengths she was going to to hide her feelings. I mean, I guess she was trying to hide it; I could see it plain and clear.

At least we were both trying to protect the guy, so I guess that was good.

- - - - -

Failure. The word rattled me to the core. Us five masters were unable to defeat Tai Lung, and we had been the protectors of the Valley of Peace for so long now!

I guess we should have seen it coming. Master Shifu had clearly stated it was Po's destiny to defeat Tai Lung, not ours. Deep down, I wasn't surprised that we lost. I mean, he did master the thousand scrolls of Kung Fu, and he did keep the valley safe from everything but himself for twenty years- just as long as the five of us did. And he did it by himself.

Tai Lung let us go. He told us to spread news of his strength and talent, to talk about him as though he were a celebrity. Then again, I guess he was a celebrity. Still, he sent us off with a warning: if we were going to challenge him again, he wouldn't show such 'mercy' or 'compassion'. Wonder how he'd define those.

Tai Lung also chose to talk a bit with Crane before forcing him to fly us home. I couldn't hear what was said aside from the occasional word or two, and couldn't ask Tigress due to our current _conditions_. I know she could hear them though. With her ears, she could practically hear their thoughts. Plus, why would I want to ask her. She could choose to hide everything, just like she'd been doing with Po!

It wasn't long before Tai Lung decided to get rid of us. With a few gnashes of teeth, he sent Crane flapping his heart out, carrying the rest of us home to spread the messages of doom to come.

- - - -

Sorry, am I boring you? AH sorry, thats right, you saw all of that already. I am so sorry, I was just a little bit caught up in the action that I didn't notice.

Allow me to pick up where things began going haywire.

- - - -

Poof! A bright glow shot out from the middle of the valley, accompanied by breeze.

Chatter rose up around us. That looked like...

"The wushi finger hold," Tigress gasped. "But, Po didn't know that."

I eagerly glanced back down at the village, for any sign that Po still lived. Wait, there were already masses of figures moving back into the town. Villagers were already rushing back down there!

"What if...?" That was all I had to say before the group of us rushed down, knowing that we could be facing Tai Lung again.

We jumped off the main trail to go around as many of the townsfolk as possible. My thoughts shattered as we gained sight of all the wrecked buildings and damaged store-fronts. _Oh no.._.

We silently slowed to a walk, now picking our way through the crowd of geese, ducks, and pigs.

"There's no way he could have survived..."

Applause suddenly shot through the crowd. Surprised, we each instantly looked toward the center.

There stood my panda amid the settling dust. It would have been an understatement to say I was shocked.

"Hey guys," Po broke the silence. My head screamed SAY SOMETHING!

However, the bold, bone-headed tiger stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Master."

_Dammit!_

The rest of the crowd, including the other four of us, followed suit.

"Master?" he laughed. Then: "Master Shifu!" And he ran off.

We stood there for a minute watching him. "Hmm, now what was that about?" I tried to dryly joke with Tigress.

"What was what?" she replied coolly, turning to me.

"Riiight..."

"What!?!"

"You like him, don't you?" I pressed, needing to know the answer myself. She better make it clear. She ain't getting that panda.

"It's possible," she shot back before promptly turning and walking away.

I cursed to myself quietly. Crane glanced at me, so I faked a smile and started off after Po.

"What would he see in her, honestly?" I muttered to myself. "It's not like she has _features_ or anything-"

"Hey man," I caught part of a conversation. "Did you see that Master Tigress? She is so much hotter in person!" The speaker's friend saw me, and only stared past his friend.

I pity the poor soul that had to wash his clothing. I hissed possibly a bit louder than I had intended to. The swine turned and squealed before realizing who I was.

"Don't you talk about her like that," I tried to say calmly, as he collected himself.

Before he, or anyone else could say anything more, I pushed on my way. "Okay so maybe there's that," I muttered. "I guess she does have a more attractive body than I do. Plus there's the whole cold-blooded thing that confuses people. Still, I'm more sensitive, caring, gentle, kind, outgoing..."

The stairs. The worst part of the Palace for a snake. Climbing a stair isn't as easy as simply lifting a leg. No. First you have to get your head up, then pull some of your body up before pushing your head the next step. Whatever, Crane wasn't there to help. He was down with the rest of the valley probably looking at all the damage, or celebrating.

When I finally reach the top stair, I glanced into the Hall of Heroes. No signs of life. I could make out voices elsewhere in the Palace, though. Slowly, I slithered on. The voices seemed to come from the kitchen. Part of me sighed. Of course he'd be in the kitchen.

I took a deep breath, feeling the cool, late afternoon air brushing itself across my body. The sky was fading into a deep crimson, stars beginning to speckle beside the triumphant moon. Their day's battle has been won, and now they dance in celebration. Likewise, fireworks lit up our valley, in our own victory festivity.

Po's party palace was the kitchen. I don't know how or why he enjoyed it so much, but he did. And you could tell it was him from a mile away, his boisterous voice carried the tales he told.

"At first he didn't think I could do it, but I was all like, 'Scadoosh!' and boom. He disappeared." Po was energetically recounting his tale. I got to the doorway when I heard:

"And that's when we showed up."

Oh no... Tigress!

- - - - - - - -

How could it get any worse? Who knows what Tigress might have said before I got to the kitchen.

I hope it wasn't much. I mean, Po should have taken up quite a lot of time recounting everything. I don't think it took me quite that long to get up those stairs. And I doubt that she would open up to him with Master Shifu around.

But, I needed to stick around just a bit to see if I could tell he something had gone on before I got there.

"Po, I really need to apologize for my behavior earlier," Tigress started. "It was really low of me to only see you for what you look like."

"Well, some people do say that looks are deceiving," Po replied to possibly the second nice thing that the tiger had ever said to him. "They even made a catchy line for it: 'Don't judge a book by its cover.'"

"You know what,Po? I'd like to get to know you better, especially since I kinda started off on the wrong foot," Tigress continued.

"As would I," Master Shifu inserted, "but I need to fly. The village leaders were expecting me. Can I trust you two together?" He paused. "Good. I will be back later. See you both later." I'm guessing he exited out the other door.

"I don't think he means it the way I do," Tigress then whispered.

"Huh?"

"I'd like to take you to lunch tomorrow."

I figured it was a good time to make my presence known. I couldn't have imagined what I saw next.

"Hey guy-" I froze having caught sight of the two mammals.

Tigress was practically on top of Po. She had his paws pinned to the table with hers, and already had a leg over his lap. They were face to face, Po looking confused as ever.

Upon my entrance, Tigress leaped off of him, upsetting two of the chairs and nearly the table. "Um, uh, you, uh didn't see anything. At all," she stammered.

"Of course not," I lied sarcastically, still struggling to comprehend. "Would you like me to leave?"

"Oh no no no no, of course not. I'm sorry, you really surprised me. I didn't hear you coming...-"

_Shoot._ "I think you were a little... preoccupied."

"No... Um, well, uh... I need to leave." Tigress promptly picked herself up off the ground and walked out. I stared her down until she was well out of the room.

"Why are you looking like her like that?" Po asked, still confused.

"Hmm?"

"Are you mad at her or something?"

"What? No... Of course not." He didn't take it. "Well, maybe a little."

I practically saw his mind jump to the truth. My deep dark secret.

"Oh no, it's not like that!" I denied.

"Sure it isn't."

"No really!" I yelled back.

"Uh huh." I shook my head at him. "Look, I think Tigress needs to take me to lunch to get the guilt off her chest. And her and I need to talk about... this _thing_ that happened."

"Oh how sweet! She's taking you out to lunch."

"Don't play stupid. I heard you outside."

"WHAT!?!" _How in the world?_

"I quote: Legends say you will be able to hear a butterfly's wings beat."

I still stared at him silently, amazed. "You really took that thing to heart, didn't you?"

"Had to, to beat Tai kitty."

I laughed. Not much can compare to his sense of humor.

"Well," I began, "You should take up on Tigress's offer. Not many people get this type of opportunity." He laughed. "As a matter of fact, I think you are the first person who she's even considered taking out."

"Now don't you make this sound like a date. That's the last thing I want it to be." He paused. "Scratch that. I mean, who wouldn't want to date Tigress?"

Just like I thought.

He caught my downtrodden look. "Or you for that matter," he continued. "You're very beautiful as well, I was just talking about her at the moment." Again, he paused. "You know what? How about you and I go out for dinner tomorrow night, so that A) Tigress doesn't think its much more than lunch, and B) you and I can get to know each other better. How's that sound?"

I had to suppress myself from literally bouncing off the walls. "Amazing would be an understatement!" _Oh my gods! A date with Po!_

- - - - - - - -

Crane was the type of person you just knew you could confide in. I always went to him for advice, or even just a person to talk to. Dependable, kind, etc. As a matter of fact, you could say I had a crush on him in my earlier years. During that time of 'growth' where all the chemicals and hormones run wild. Heh, we could say I had a crush on pretty much anybody and everybody. The males, that is. Let's just get back to the story.

That night after the celebrations and all wound down, I went to talk to Crane. I had an idea, and I needed his help. Together, we could make sure Tigress didn't do anything to my panda. Yes, mine.

It was just after dinner time, when we each normally had free time to do as we wished. Monkey and Mantis normally sparred, while Crane practiced calligraphy. Master Shifu played his flute as only he knew how. I had no idea what Po would do, but it was probably either sleep or eat, no offense to the guy. Tigress normally sparred, but I think she was trying to put together some sort of set of clothing for tomorrow. Maybe scraping together some of the makeup I had given her over the years during my attempts to 'feminine-ize' her.

I knocked on Crane's bedroom door. Instantly there came a muffled, "Come in." I obeyed. "Ah, Viper. You could say I was expecting you."

"Really?"

"Considering how jumpy you were during dinner, I just thought you would have something to talk about. What is it?"

I shuffled in and shut the door. "I didn't interrupt something important, did I?"

"No not really. Just some practicing."

"It looks wonderful."

"Thank you." He replied, glancing back down at his work.

Then silence crept in on us.

"...Viper?"

"Oh yea, um... Would you mind going for a walk?"

"Yea, sure. Anything for a friend," He said, setting his calligraphy supplies aside. I walked out the doorway, and he followed.

At first I had no idea where we could go, but it didn't take long before I thought of the Peach tree.

We walked silently past the two sparring forms of Monkey and Mantis. Both of them acknowledged us by glancing over and nothing more. By the looks of it, Monkey was having a tough time keeping up with Mantis.

Crane and I also passed Master Shifu as he played soothing tunes from his flute. One of his jumbo, fluffy ears twitched, revealing that he had noted us.

Getting nearer to the tree, Crane walked beside me, glancing down and smiling.

I coiled up into a snake's 'sitting' position, and Crane ruffled his feathers a bit.

"First of all, thank you very much for being there to talk to," I started. He nodded for of to continue. "Now, settle in, this may be a long one. Okay so let's face it, I have a major crush on Po."

"Obviously, now go on."

"Was it really that obvious?''

"I could tell, but that's not saying much."

"Anyway, so I like him like a lot. But Tigress seems to like him too. Even he has confirmed that she is more attractive between the two of us, though it was by accident. I think Po likes me too, but he could just feel sorry for me. Anyway, she asked him out to lunch tomorrow. Then I caught her practically on his lap by her own doing and she jumped and ran away. Then he said he and I should go to dinner tomorrow night, but I need your help making sure that she doesn't kiss him or corner him or anything. I was thinking that we could follow then on the roofs and he the catch us, we would pretend that we were getting a bite to eat since the chef was out." I took a deep breath before exhaling slowly.

"Is that all?" Crane asked. I nodded. "Wow, what a story."

"What do ya think?"

"I'm not quite sure what to think. I'll help, but only so long as we don't interrupt any tender moments they share. If they do like each other, we need to let then be."

I sighed. "Understood."

"Now, do we know where they'll be eating?"

- - - - - -

Mr. Ping's restaurant. Of all places she could choose.

I guess I should look at the bright side, it was an open air restaurant, easy to spy into. Crane and I had situated ourselves behind Tigress and off to a side. Felines have this ability to see motion very well, so we wanted to stay well out of her field of vision.

Crane crouched over me. We didn't want anyone seeing us at all, and starting any commotion. He also wanted to keep me cool, by shielding me from the sunlight. Sometimes being cold-blooded has some disadvantages.

I was too focused at the time to realize just how we might have looked to the casual eye. The _position_ Crane was in would have deeply amused of back when I was crushing on him. I don't know if Crane realized it either.

Ahem, that aside, our two targets were just getting seated. Po's father was even more electric than normal, shouting quite loudly as room as they appeared in the doorway. Apparently, they had sent Zeng ahead, and Mr. Ping had a table set aside for them.

They each quickly ordered something, and started talking. Tigress especially. That and she wouldn't stop rubbing her tail all over his legs and she constantly played with his feet. At first Crane had to literally pin me to the roof top to keep me from going down there and causing a ruckus. That would have been quite embarrassing. Crane pointed out that Po wasn't reacting, which calmed me down enough to realize it as well. _Good_, I thought to myself, _He's my panda_.

They seemed to talk forever. Tigress went on and on and on. Eventually, Po set his head in his hand, gazing blindly over at the blabbering tiger.

However, he lightened up a whole lot once the food came. Wait a minute... Theres only one...-

"They're sharing?" Crane asked, slightly amused and bewildered.

Took a minute to click for me. "What?" This was not good at all!

"Maybe just Po is eating?" I thought. But sure enough, Tigress picked up a pair of chopsticks, looking intensely at the bowl of noodles the waiter had set between the both of them.

Both Po and Tigress grabbed for noodles. Tigress finally stopped talking and shoved the bite into her mouth. Po did the same, not paying any attention to the pieces that he grabbed. Instantly, he began the childhood tradition of sucking them into his mouth before realizing-

"NO!!!" I jumped out from under Crane, landing in the restaurant below. Po had accidentally grabbed pieces Tigress had. Their mouths met halfway across the table. He froze, surprise shining through his eyes when he realized what they were doing. Tigress's tail showed just how excited she was, flicking obnoxiously back and forth.

Just then, Crane landed on my back and crouched down, keeping me from seeing anything more, and yet still trying to make sure that we weren't seen. "Po didn't mean that," Crane whispered, "So don't you hold it against him." He paused a moment to let it sink into that thick skull of mine. "Now, we need to get out of here."

"PO! TIGRESS!" a miniature, but powerful voice echoed from somewhere. "Come quickly!" The voice seemed to get closer. "Where are Crane and Viper!?!"

"It's Mantis. If they ask, we were flying, okay?" Crane told me, before standing up straight and allowing me to climb on top of him. Occasionally, we would go flying together to talk, so it wouldn't be all too unusual. He flapped his wings so that we were somewhat off the ground.

"You need us?" Crane called, before landing next to the now-gathered warriors.

Mantis was very tired. Something was wrong, I could tell, just by the way he was looking at us. I glanced at Po and Tigress. Po was still somewhat stunned, while Tigress had this sly grin on her face. Mantis had yet to speak.

"Terrible..." He gasped. "There were so many of them. They... They have them."

"Have who?" Tigress demanded, suddenly snapping out of her trance.

"Master Shifu, and Monkey."

- - - - -

**Author Notes: Okay so I know its been forever since I updated this, but that was because I was still working with ideas. Now, though, I have a much clearer concept of the story. Which is good considering I'm writing it. XD. Any suggestions would be awesome, and comments on this... Cause it literally took forever.**

**I've been writing on my phone lately due to time constraints. Yes, I said it, my phone. Who here still types with Notepad? Not many. I, however, have to. There may still be some typos in the story, and if you find one, I will fix it as well as give you a mention down here ^^. Actually, does anyone else here type on a phone at all? One with a number pad and NOT a keyboard?  
**

**As always, tokokono helped muchly. First of all, he helped me overcome a formatting error that would have taken a bit longer to fix normally. Second, he kinda helped give this thing a direction. I have a horrible way of starting things w/o a direction to go in ^^.**

**Thanks as well to FalconMage, who I have been talking to muchly about this thing.**

**And, as always, thank you, the readers, for taking your time to read! Hope you enjoyed it (so far).  
**


	3. Chapter 2

Hey guys and galls

Sorry this took so long to update. Finishing the school year, etc. as well as delving more into art.

Uh, I know there were quite a few mentions that Tigress was going a bit OOC. Rather than delaying the explanation even longer, I decided to bump it into this chapter.

Yea... Sorry again for the slowness.

Written entirely on a smartphone, btw.

* * *

Chapter 2

oh gods oh gods OH GODS

This didn't look good at all. The five of us, Po, Tigress, Crane, Mantis and I had all ran back up to the palace, upon the news that Mantis brought.

Blood marked the walls, as if a toddler had been given a bucket of red paint and set loose within the Palace walls. And had been given more when he'd spilled it on the floor. Bodies littered the floors about the Palace grounds. Wolves, foxes, cats, and other types of animals lay strewn about, many deformed from the numerous broken bones dealt by either of the masters' weapons.

Mantis stumbled out in front of the other four of us, equally stunned by the number of dead. "There... There were... so many of them..." he stammered. "All of them... that same blank face... Muttering that same cursed line..." he started shaking violently.

Crane snapped out of his glazed gaze. "What!?!"

Mantis jumped at the outburst. "They all had seemed brainwashed, all of them, muttering 'Come with us... Join us.' Their voices alone could drive a man insane."

"No..." Crane gasped. "That can't be!"

"It's true!" Mantis assured.

"No, not that! Its Tai Lung-"

Po gasped, "How?"

Crane sighed, "What Tai Lung said, rather. When he talked to me. He mentioned these beasts, muttering that exact phrase. He said they tried to take him as well, but that he out-ran them. I didn't believe him, I thought... I though he was just trying to scare me more."

"WHAT!?!" Tigress yelled, "Why didn't you tell anyone about this!"

"Sorry! I would have, but I thought he was lying!"

"Hmph!" Tigress grunted, overreacting quite a bit.

"Yahhh!" A voice shrieked. Out of instinct, I jumped in the air, turning to face in the direction the sound had come from. Each of the others turned as well, taking defensive positions.

One of the wolves stirred. His eyes shifted, and he blinked a few times. "Free?" he mumbled, before trying to get up. "Ahhh!" he quickly cried in pain, feeling the weight of his wounds.

"What?" the wolf gasped, before struggling to look down the rest of his body. His arms and legs were all broken in multiple places, and a cut sliced through his side, dumping blood across his once blue shirt and puddling on the ground beside him. He groaned, dropping his head back to the ground.

I approached cautiously, not knowing what was going on. He jumped, obviously surprised at seeing me, before shrieking in pain again.

I looked over her wounds. They were horrific, most-likely mortal. The wolf closed his eyes and started crying softly, lip quivering from the pain raking his body.

"So...Much...Pain... No wonder he released me..."

"Who?" I asked gently as Crane offered to go for medical help.

"Quelada. He... He let go of my body." He paused, staring blankly right through me. "He took my wife, my children. The whole damn town. Enslaved their bodies, tore their very souls from them. Turned them into monsters... And yet, he finally lets you go when you are of no use anymore. When you-" he choked, "die!" Now the poor wolf shook with his sobbing, not even noticing the pain that should have immobilized him. "My wife... I couldn't..."

"Shhh..." I tried to calm him. "Stop crying." I brushed a blue streak of hair out of his face. "You need to keep still if you have any chance at seeing them again." Tears filled my eyes. I was basically trying to convince myself what I told him.

"I'm not stupid," the poor wolf said darkly. "No one can survive these wounds. It'd take a miracle. I just wish I could see her one more time. Touch her; tell her I love her, one more time. Hear the gentle sound of her breath as she lay across my chest. Feel her heart beat against me. The taste of her lips- knowing that there was always someone there to talk to, confide in. And my kids... He probably slaughtered them. Not old enough to fight." My own tears spotted his shirt as he finished. "I'm worthless. I can't help them. Any of them..."

Tigress stepped up to his side. "You can help them by helping us. We're going to fight them."

I fell back some, glancing at Po- Mantis was off looking at the rest of the bodies, who were all deathly silent.

Po had tears in his eyes. He walked to me, and scooped of up in his arms. "It's not fair," I cried. "Each of them is innocent. How can we fight them?"

"We'll fight, knowing that we are saving thousands from the same fate. We'll fight remembering the thousands already dead at the hands of this. And we'll fight in the hopes that Master Shifu and Monkey can still be saved." Po is widely known for his jokes. I would never have believed that such wisdom could come out from such a simplistic person.

Tigress turned to us, having gotten everything she wanted from the canine. Surprise flickered across her face quickly, seeing Po and I sharing a tender moment. However, her seriousness came back quickly. "We need to leave by nightfall he we are to have any chance of rescuing them. I need to talk with the village head about security here. Po, you need to pack food that'll feed up a week. Viper, help pack other necessities. I'll be back before long." Tigress ran off before any questions could be asked.

Po sniffed a bit. "I guess we should go get ready." He let me back to the ground before heading to the kitchen.

I slid back over to the wolf. He had ceased crying, and merely sat looking at the sky.

"Just to see her, one more time..."

"What was she like?" I asked, trying to calm him a bit more, and take him off of the saddening 'one last time' sequence.

"Well, she had the most amazing laugh ever," he started, "and could melt the strongest of iron with just a word from her precious lips. Heh, every day could'a been heaven with her. Hell, it was heaven. She managed to make even the cheapest of clothing look beautiful. No one needed a sun while she was around, the day just somehow got brighter. I can't remember a day where there wasn't another make trying to who her from me, even after we married." He gently laughed. "She lived up to her married name, sounding like thunder whenever someone had the guts to try and break us apart. Thunder... Hmm, she sure did shake the walls. Now, of course we had our own share of fights, but what couple doesn't? I.... I wish..."

"Shhh," I begged. "Enough of that. You'll see her again one day. Maybe not on Earth, but you will."

Crane showed up just them, followed by a calico cat, our doctor.

"Oh my!" She gasped, seeing the wolf. She gave him a quick glance, as well as the crimson puddle beside him. Her shoulders drooped as she looked upon the hopeless case. "I'm not sure there's much I can do."

"Undestood, miss," he sighed. "Don't get yourself worked up over me."

"Just, do what you can." I begged her. She immediately began closing up his side.

"Crane," I asked, "Would you mind packing for me?"

"Not a problem," he said, heading off.

I sighed, and wiped my drying eyes with my tail, before scratching the wolf behind his ear a bit. "I don't believe you said your name, nor much about you, wolf."

"Ah, yes. They called me K.Z. and I used to be a merchant in the little town of Lufeing out in western China, out in the mountains. I was an orphan, or at least I don't remember having any family. My wife was an orphan too. We actually met in the orphanage growing up. We used to joke about the possibility of being brother and sister. She and I were different colors though, so we just kinda didn't think about it too much. I was this boring shade of gray. Her fur was beautiful, though. Soft and warm too." He sighed and fell silent, and his eyes filled again.

"There, there," I said. "Everything will be okay. We will find a way to stop this madness."

"If you do, could ya tell my wife I loved her?"

Wow... even as he lay here, beaten and torn, his thoughts weren't about him. "Sure can." What I would do for a husband like that-

"Would you like some pain-killers?" the doctor asked him.

"Nah, don't waste 'em on me. I'm sure someone else could make better use of them."

"Oh stop acting as though you're already dead!"

The doctor looked at me as I finished saying that.

"Is it really that bad?" K.Z. cautiously asked again.

"Well," the feline said. "Let's just say that not many people have survived wounds this severe..."

"Hmm.... Well, we'll see if I can. Don't get your hopes up. Master Viper, was it?"

"Yes?"

"Wow, I never thought I'd meet any of the Furious Five, let alone talk with them. Thank you for the talk."

"Any time."

"Don't you have some packing to do?" He practically whispered.

"Well, yea, but-"

"But-nothing. Don't worry 'bout me. Besides, you gotta go save me wife!"

"I guess that would be true," I replied. "I hope to get the pleasure of talking to you again."

He rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't bet on it."

"We shall see."

.........................

"Po, we can't pack the whole kitchen," Tigress yelled at the panda. "We need to move quickly!" We were all standing at the Palace gate, waiting as Po half carried, half dragged his monstrous backpack out.

"What? I'm a big eater!" the over-sized mammal pleaded.

"No, not this time through. Plus, Mantis and Viper can't carry their own gear, so we have to carry it for them. Unpack some of that food." She failed to note however that neither Mantis nor I had any real necessities to pack. All I normally brought was the first aid kit, while Mantis occasionally brought his acupuncture set. On the panda's behalf, though, Mantis had decided against bringing it.

Po sighed, "Yes ma'am," before ripping the pack open and pulling some food out.

"You and I, and everyone else all know that you won't be able to carry that much without slowing everybody down," she continued

"Tigress, quit it, he's working on it," I defended him, deciding that Tigress had tormented him enough already.

"Don't you DARE tell me what to do."

Crane got that 'uh-oh' look on his face.

"And at what point did you decided to act excessively kind to him only when no one else was around, huh?" I rattled back, before realizing what I said.

Crane snapped his gaze toward Tigress, and Mantis offered a muffled, "Huh?" I only threw my tail over my mouth.

"Damnit that wasn't about him!" She shrieked. "It was a last-ditch effort at the scroll!"

Her eyes widened as she too realized that her tongue had slipped its guard.

Crane and Po both stood open-mouthed, stunned. "No!" Tigress yelled. She turned, clutching the sack at her back. "And I thought you'd been flying. You WERE watching me. You are all traitors." The tiger started to walk away, concluding, "You would have seen the monstrosity going on up here, had you really been flying. You, of all people, a liar. Backstabber!" She spit the last word out like a poison, before bounding off.

All I could do was stare at her dust trail. Mantis was confused as ever, staring as Tigress leapt from the edge of the Palace, taking her normal route down to the Valley below. Crane was reflecting on his part in the sudden unfortunate turn of events, no doubt telling himself how to fix this division.

Po shared his thoughts rather bluntly, "Where do you think she's going?"

Crane replied, "Well, she's probably heading off in the direction of wherever Quelada is. Running straight in, without any plan. And she'll get caught off guard by something, and end up in Monkey and Master Shifu's position. Unless we match her speed and drive, which is unheard of. And, what's worse is that if she doesn't get into trouble by the time we get there, she'll try and disable us so that she can be the lone hero, thus out-doing the Dragon Warrior. But we can't wait too long because we need to catch them before stuff happens."

Silence broke the small group, virtually harboring each of us in our own minds. My thoughts shifted to Tigress. Wasn't she more honorable than to use Po, just to obtain a scroll, when she already knew what it contained? Or was it just a lust for recognition, just like Tai Lung had fallen into?

"Okay, am I the only one here that has no idea what just happened?" Mantis asked blindly.

"Yes."

...............

"What do you mean, she just up and left!?!" the village head, a rhino, shouted, refusing to believe the news. The furiocity of his voice frightened both of his assistants. Crane and I had gone down to alert him of the dangers, while Mantis helped Po unpack some food.

"I mean exactly what I'm saying!" Crane returned. "She's already gone ahead of us and run off. We need your army to take place watching the valley (he used the term 'army' loosely). I'd also recommend sending a runner ahead with us, should we fail. Although it's fairly apparent that we have quite a job cut out for us." The look on his face revealed his dark idea of our future.

"At least we have the Dragon Warrior with us," I added, trying to keep hopes up a little.

"I'm not sure we could spare any man given the scale of danger you've told of," he replied without thinking.

"Yes but you would do better to be lying in wait for the enemy when it comes, and the easiest way to do that is with a runner," Crane responded.

He sighed, "I suppose you're right." Then he paused. "When do you leave?"

"Before nightfall," Crane said, "We're actually ready to leave as soon as a runner is chosen and supplied."

"Right," the rhino concluded, already seemingly deep in thought. He charged his two assistants, "Assemble the messengers and runners. They should be under the military papers."

"Those haven't been updated in ages," one of them pointed out.

"Fine then, scour the village for any person who meets the requirements. Built for speed and endurance, ready in a wing's beat. Go!"

Both scurried off in opposite directions.

"I'm sure you've already figured, but it may take a little time to find someone suitable. It may be faster he you were to help... You know your speed a bit better than we do. That and you can spread out." He paused. "I'm sorry we didn't keep our registry up to date... There really isn't any one person who comes to my mind..."

"It's alright," Crane assured. "We'll be off now, thank you. I'm sure you have plenty to get ready."

- *...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...

The Valley of Peace is not famous for its athletes. It IS after all, a merchant town. It was mainly populated with pigs and geese, not very fast runners.

The four of us were standing by a line of candidates, interviewing and examining each one. They were mainly exotic, traveling merchants, only considered because they were in shape. There were also the hired guards that accompanied these merchants. And a handful of exotic dancers or prostitutes were considered due to their physique, until their occupation came up. Nothing personal against them, we just didn't think having a sex-crazed animal staying with us was a good idea.

Eventually we got down to two candidates, one female cheetah and a male wolf. She was a beautiful trader who carried expensive goods from region to region, often buying local specials to sell elsewhere. He, ironically, was her highest paid guard. They knew each other well and could describe numerous occasions where they'd fought off bands of thieves, often alone. They also showed evidence of their outstanding endurance, having records from purchases in towns 50 miles apart on the same day.

Crane ultimately decided against turning either down and wished them both to come. The wolf declared he would go wherever Jess, the cheetah, sent him. To this, she returned, Morrick would accompany her on this journey, so long as she could store her goods in the Palace.

We immediately agreed. She immediately set off to settle her debts with her other guards while Morrick carried her goods up to the Palace.

"So," Po started a lighter conversation, "Have you and Jess had good business while staying in the Valley?"

"Pretty good," He puffed, "We've mainly been resting since hopping in from out west."

"Oh really?" Crane slid in. "Did you have many problems with bandits out there?"

"Not really, nah. The only thing dangerous out there is the rumor of a huge army coming in from the east."

"You think the rumors might be true?" Crane prodded.

...Oh yea, Tigress was the only one who knew where we were going... And K.Z. might no longer be with us...

"Nonsense. Ya hear alot of that while you're traveling. Especially when jealousy is brought in. You may not notice it, but the East is growing faster than the West, so them Westerners try to raise suspicion around the East to keep people from going there. Hahaha it's these types of people we can get the best prices from. They pay us to keep our mouths shut!"

The group of up laughed a bit, although not quite as much as he was expecting. "What?" he begged.

We got to the top of the stairs, and Po opened the doors.

"This is what that army can do," Crane noted, turning to see his reaction. "This is going to be our mission. Master Monkey does not accompany up because he has been taken, as well as our Master, Shifu. This is why we needed runners, to warn the Valley if we fail."

Morrick continued to stare at the wreckage. A few silent moments passed before he shook his head violently, shaking his thoughts back to the present. "Wow..."

"Follow me to where you'll leave your goods," Crane said blankly. Morrick acknowledged him by shuffling closer to the group. I slid a bit away as the group headed off toward the training room.

I wandered toward where K.Z. had been laying. He wasn't where he had been. She'd probably moved him to a bed, as well as any others she'd found alive. So, I headed toward the dormitory.

I skipped part the first few rooms. She probably wouldn't put people in our six rooms without first checking with us.

Opening the first door after our rooms, the doctor turned and greeted me.

"Oh Master Viper, I'm glad you came-"

"As am I," K.Z. brightly interjected, from the bed beside her. "I'm truly honored."

"Oh stop it," I laughed. "I told you I'd see you again."

"I honestly didn't think you would," he replied. "I swear, I've had better service here from your doctor than when I paid for a full service room on one of our vacations. She's wonderful."

"Oh please don't act like that," she immediately responded. "Its not like I have any other cases to look after."

"So everyone else is dead?" I asked cautiously.

"Yea, and I ain't got that much time to my name either honey."

"That's not the attitude to have, mister," the doctor scolded him. "Do you want all my hard work to go to waste?"

"You really think I have a chance at living?" He wagged his tail a bit.

"Oh certainly," She responded. "You stopped bleeding faster than I had dared to hope, and you're eating and drinking well. Sir, you're in the best medical care for leagues."

"Have I not asked you enough to call me K.Z.?"

"Hmmhmm, she does that with us too," I added.

"At least you deserve the respect, much unlike me," he stated.

I took this opportunity to look at how he was. K.Z. was splinted and tied down to a body board we had for Tigress, that way his tail wouldn't be bothered. Everything except his tail and his head was immobilized. He still wore his blue shirt, caked with dry blood and torn around his side so that it allowed access to the wound. A fresh pair of black pants covered his legs, but you could tell they were bandaged and splinted by the inhuman shape the clothing took. When my eyes hit his shirt again as I wondered why his shirt wasn't replaced, he said his wife made it for him.

His face was deeply bruised, and dried blood sat at the end of his nose. The doctor had tried her hand at cleaning his fur, but had either given up or been told to stop about half way down his head.

"You need grooming," I couldn't help saying.

"Sorry, Quelada didn't exactly keep us looking all that great."

"I offered-," the doctor started.

"Sorry Cat but the only woman who can lick me is my wife. Thank you though."

She flustered at the typical feline grooming action. "That's not what I meant when I said I'd clean you! We do have high-tec buckets and rags around here!"

I laughed. At least if K.Z.'s condition were to turn back around, he was enjoying himself.

However, after making sure that he was alright, I needed to find out what all he had told Tigress.

"I hate to cut the good cheer, but I need to know what all you told Tigress."

"Why? She forget already?"

I sighed. "Well, no... She, uh, left before we were ready."

Surprised, he said, "Well I'm not sure I can recall exactly what I said to her, but I'll try."

"Thank you."

* * *

And there's your explanation...Somewhere... up there ^.^

Hopefully I'll pick up speed (which totally isn't saying much) after I get home from hiking the next half-month...


	4. Chapter 3

"Come on Po, we have to catch up to her!"

"That's... impossible... she's... a tiger!" He managed to reply to Crane between heavy breaths.

Night was closing in on us as we tried to gain what ground we could on Tigress. According to K.Z., the main of Quelada's army was slowly moving West. The assault on the Palace was a side group who'd been sent to take how ever many Masters they could, to add to the army before taking any land in the region.

"The truth is," he'd said, "Quelada's sacred of you."

Compared to us, I'm not sure who's more sacred.

"How does she go so far so fast!?!" Po exclaimed, exhausted. Slowing, he threw his pack off to the side, and leaned against a tree.

"Um, we really shouldn't be stopping this much," Crane said, cautiously.

"Sorry I'm slowing you guys down so much," Po answered. "I'm really trying."

"Its alright," I said. "We're doing fine."

"Fine if we're letting Tigress learn a lesson," Mantis joked darkly.

Jess and Morrick stood with us silently, each catching their breath. Dark, solemn looks shadowed their faces, recognizing the trouble ahead. Jess had been very hard to convince about the mission. Both have been very quiet since. They'd been keeping up very well, especially when compared to-

"How far do you think we've gone?" Po asked no one in general, just catching his breath.

"Eighteen and a half miles, north of the town Daio and southeastern of Jayoh," Crane answered.

"KZ said they were a day's dead run away from the Valley, so we placed them somewhere around Tahgu province," I added to Crane.

"But thats almost a fifty miles away!?!" Po exclaimed. "How could they keep such a pace!?!"

"Uhh, its fifty from the Palace," Crane corrected. "About thirty from here. And they're brainwashed."

"Gahhaha...," Po cried.

"Well, the first part is always the hardest, right?" I encouraged him.

"Until we get there," Crane volleyed back, not wanting to get too comfortable with the future. "This is gonna be one tough fight."

"I can't imagine," Po said, getting back up to gather his pack again.

"We have ten more miles to do before the close of the day," Crane concluded, "Then we can sleep."

"Maybe you guys should go ahead of me and try to catch Master Shifu, Tigress and Monkey?"

I hesitated before saying, "We couldn't just leave the Dragon Warrior behind...?"

"I think he has a point, one I didn't want to bring up," Crane said. "However, we couldn't take on the whole army. We'd need to be able to fall back to Po and a runner, meaning one of you would come with us." He glanced to Morrick and Jess.

Unfortunately, I had to admit to myself that there was some wisdom in it. No doubt that Master Shifu and Monkey would be slowing them down quite a bit (Unless Quelada already took over their minds...). We could provide backup to Tigress, who may have already caught up.

"We can't do it tonight, because its too late. Tomorrow morning. Hopefully Tigress took a humane pace."

"Doubt it. She probably won't even sleep," Mantis said.

"That would be like her, wouldn't it!"

"Viper..." Crane warned. "Calm down."

I heeded to his words, mindlessly hissing in disapproval.

"She is still the same Tigress," Crane sighed. "Once she finally realizes that she wasn't meant to be the Dragon Warrior... Or at least recognizes it... I'm sure Master Shifu will be able to talk to her about it...." His voice trailed off before he settled with, "At least her case isn't near as bad as Tai Lung. She was going to settle with Dragon Warrior's wife or so...(I'm guessing he used the term 'settle' loosely)."

In my anger, I missed the meaning of a look shared between Po and Crane.

"Alright, we gotta get moving," Crane said, taking flight, leading the group through the last leg of the day's travel.

* * *

"Order up!" Po said as enthusiastic as he could be after thirty miles of running. Thankfully we only had to stop a few more times before finding a good camp site.

Handing the bowls of soup out, Po started, "So how ya'll feelin? Limbs sore? Er... No offence Viper."

"Hahaha, none taken," I laughed.

"Yea I'm a bit sore," Jess confirmed flatly.

"Same here," Morrick followed.

"I'm just glad we found Tigress's print," Crane thought aloud. "We might catch her late tomorrow." A solid, even print showed that she was taking it slow, compared to a claw-raked, mad run. "We might hope that she's reflecting on what she did, and that's why she's running slow. Hopefully its not an injury."

"Maybe she'll realize what a bitch she's being."

"Viper!" Everyone shrieked.

"What? She is!"

"Put yourself in her place," Po said with no bitterness at all. "She had the highest hopes of all of you to get the Scroll. It was practically a given, dangling in front of her, paws down! And then a cook takes it. A nobody."

"That still doesn't justify what she was doing to you! Even Master Shifu eventually agreed that you were the true Dragon Warrior! Can't she just accept it?"

"Remember Tai Lung..." Crane sighed.

"He beat her, and Po beat him. Wouldn't that be enough?"

"Maybe she's still coping with the pain of being bested by a panda." Crane paused. "She's still hurt. Give her time, and I'm sure she'll come around."

I looked at him, still not wanting to believe. I guess part of me knew he was right. I grew up depending on his advice, how could he not be? Sighing, my gaze dropped to the ground.

"Soup's gettin cold."

"Sorry."

"As always, wonderful job Po."

"Thanks guys."

"Whoa!" Jess exploded, tasting Po's masterpiece.

"This is amazing!" came from Morrick as he too tasted Po's work.

For a moment, only the slurping of soup could be heard. Then again, reptiles aren't known for their sense of hearing. Crane had eyes, Mantis felt vibrations in the ground, I guess Morrick had the ears?... Po could cook. That's a natural power, right?

Anyway, that night, we all tried to sleep under or on things. Cots had been deemed unnecessary.

Po let me sleep with him. Best night I've had. Ever.

Mantis had only one joke for it. "Well, he DOES sleep like a rock."

His fur was so soft. And warm. Hmm- not sure I could accurately describe the feeling it gave me. All I know is I had to suppress it in order to fall asleep.

Morning came much to quickly. I was still only half awake as Po got up to cook breakfast (At Crane's call of course). Today we had to leave Po and either Jess or Morrick behind, and try to find Tigress.

I was not looking forward to it. As much as I wanted to ask whether a Master should stay with Po (namely, the one authoring this script), I knew it would be rejected. We could find Tigress and a fight. Or one or the other.

Breakfast went down wordlessly, each of us knowing that we had to prepare for the worst. Now. Since distance was mainly a guess, Tigress being unpredictable, and the other captured Masters' statuses unknown. As well as the actual size of Quelada's army. And how he controls them...

Again, wordlessly we flew through the forests, leaving the panda and Morrick (whom they decided would be a better long distance runner) out of sight after only a few moments. It was relatively quiet, most small towns still sleeping in the mountains. The few travelers we passed all knew nothing of a large army, nor of Tigress. That, or they were too surprised by us to think straight.

Tiger was a very rare scent. She'd probably been through here.

"I'm going up higher," Crane announced, after a few short hours, "To see if I can see anything."

He couldn't. At least not this time.

An hour or two later of straight running, he said it again. Her scent was much stronger here.

Instantly he came back down.

"Umm, Viper? Mantis? Can I get you guys to go check out the nearby town, to see they've had stories or accounts of an army? Jess can go wherever."

"I can go to town," she offered.

"Sure, no problem," Mantis replied, looking at me.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked.

"Uh, just something I need to take care of," Crane replied, looking off to the side.

* * *

We'd gone approximately twenty five miles already that morning, reaching the town of Nima. A small, little town, mainly a merchant's rest-stop on the way west to the Valley. A trader's town.

There were sure to be a ton of stories.

Hopefully one will fit.

The streets were mostly empty, as those merchants spending the night were certainly going to sleep in. Jess recalled her few days she spent in the town a week before she got to the Valley, and could recall where everything was. She quickly led us to the inn, to the cart-lot, so that we could speak with the guards. Unfortunately we only got one bit of info. The army numbered in the tens of hundreds, which was better than we had dared to hope. Unfortunately, this was only word of mouth.

Jess recognized one of the guards and stopped to talk to him, so Mantis and I stood off to the side.

Mantis coughed, "You know you don't have to hide it."

"Hmmm?"

"You like Po, don't even bother trying to hide it. Heh, you may not realize it but you really do melt every time you see him."

Surprised, I managed to say, "What? No jokes about it?"

"Wha? No, no jokes."

What a surprise! Mantis not making a joke about it. Honestly it was. The resident joke cracker holding his tongue. "Thank you Mantis, you're very kind."

"Who am I to joke about love? I got nothin to back me up, eh?"

"Hahaha," I laughed.

"Alright guys," Jess called, jogging back over to the group, "What else do we need to do?"

"Uh, I dunno. You think Crane is finished yet?" Mantis asked us.

"I dunno, you think he'd come to get us if he were done?" I replied.

"Possibly," Mantis returned.

"Well?" Jess asked, begging what to do next.

"I guess we go back-"

"EEEEE!!!"

I spun to see a little toddler run at me, screaming in glee, with her mother in pursuit. The pup jumped at me, almost as a pounce. I caught her, mid-jump.

"Well hi there little fella!" I greeted the youngster, whose arms were stretched forward in an attempt the latch herself onto me.

"I am sooo sorry," her mother explained, finally catching up. Between deep breaths, she continued, "I don't know where she gets that energy from. Are you... Um... Master-"

"Yea," I sighed, "Master Viper." We get that a lot. Naturally, they don't want to assume, or they're expecting us to have a crowd around us.

"Oh! I am so very sorry!" The mother again apologized, reaching for her child, who was idling herself by gazing at the patterns on my scales.

"Oh its no problem," I returned, handing the child back to her mother. "We're used to it."

"Master Mantis," She acknowledged him as well. A look of panic crossed her face. "Uh, am I supposed to be bowing or something?"

"Nah," I responded. "Its alright. We get enough of that."

"Oh wow, I can't imagine."

"How old is she?" Jess asked, relaxing a bit from 'business' by watching the pup's antics.

"Oh I'm sorry, is this a new addition to the team?"

"Oh no," Jess stuttered, slightly surprised. "Just... just a temporary addition."

"I recognize you from somewhere... And she's a few months old," The mother replied, tugging on the toddler who was anxious to have a go with Jess's white-tipped tail.

"I came through here last week?" Jess offered.

"I must have seen you leaving, then. We haven't been here all that long."

"You don't live here?" I asked. "You don't look like the merchant type...?"

"Oh no, I'm not. I'm from a little town of Sundin in Western Tahgu. My husband sent us both out here taking precaution to some word about an army out East."

I froze, barely managing to say, "Oh?"

She caught my surprise, and eyed me suspiciously. "Have... Have you heard them?"

Uh oh.

"That's what we're out here for, ma'am, to investigate it," Mantis explained, evading the full truth.

She looked at us not fully believing, but considering our status, it would have been disrespectful for her to prod further.

"What did you hear about it?" he asked.

"This guy came to our village, telling tales of doom to come. He said that each man could stand incomprehensible amounts of pain."

Crane shifted his weight uneasily. Spreading panic would only create more chaos, and possibly aggravate the enemy. We couldn't tell her... That is... not in public.

"The guy who told us called himself 'the messenger', " she continued. "He wore a black cloak and had a longsword attached to his hip. He sat around with a staff in his hand, muttering nothing audible except for the occasional outburst about this army. He seemed to delight in his own words, even if the news he spread was terrible, like the army's number. Two days he sat around chanting before leaving the way he came. That was when my husband asked me to take our youngest and head west, to here. He'd worked here when he was younger."

I had to keep myself from asking how many they numbered.

"Do you know what species he was?" Mantis asked.

"Couldn't tell, but from his figure it was either canine or fairly large feline. If I had to guess, it would be feline. I think his muzzle would have stuck out from the cloak. He ate meat."

"That description would fit," I started. "K. Z. said the army wasn't moving all too fast, so-"

"My husband!?!" the mother half whispered, half yelled.

"What?"

"That is my husband's name..." she replied.

* * *

D.G., as her name was, immediately headed for the Valley. Out of all the people we could have seen... We were all glad her daughter had been so intrigued by my flowers. She understood that K.Z. may not be alive at this point. Honestly, I don't think the gravity of what was going on had hit her yet.

Especially since their son had not been accounted for.

"Thank you so much," she yelled over her shoulder, as she rushed out of the town. Her daughter squealed from her hands, excited by all the action.

There wasn't anything more we could say. The next focus was to head back out to find Crane. And maybe figure out how far behind Po and Morrick were.

"What a coincidence," Jess mused.

"Can't say we've ever had that happen before," I added.

"Well there's a first for everything," Mantis said before leading the group toward the end of the town.

I would say that we felt accomplished, but we didn't have the time to even consider our feelings.

As we walked out of the town, in came a shadowy, cloaked character, sporting a longsword. He froze in front of us momentarily, before continuing on.

"Masters," His eerie voice nearly sent shivers down my back. He walked strongly right past us, before shouting,"EVERYONE! A NEW DAWN APPROACHES FROM THE EAST. ABANDON YOUR HOMES, OR PREPARE TO BE TAKEN. Oh yes... taken... hmmmmhmmmhmmm..."

* * *

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AN: The name Nima is borrowed from a popular writer of KFPfiction- LadyFoxFire (I think that was her name on here -.-; ).

Lol, hey guys. Its been a while... Again. Not quite a year, though. My writing has gotten a bit worse, since I haven't kept up the practice. XD Still planning on finishing the story, as well as my other ones (like it will actually happen or something...). I know I have another chapter written up, but writing on a phone's been a bish. You have to go back and read again and again to find mistakes. And you can't fit enough of the text on the screen. Ugh. But, I'm still trying, and that counts for something, right?


	5. Chapter 4

Jess headed out to fetch Crane, while Mantis and I followed this cloaked figure. He continued shouting about impending doom draping across the east. People passed him not even giving him a second glance. I wanted to yell with him, telling them to go. Get out, and run for their lives.

"What do you think he's doing?" Mantis asked. "He's telling people to stay away. Wouldn't he want to strengthen his army further?"

"That's what I would have thought," I answered, still wandering behind our target. "Its almost like he wants anyone who objects to leave, but no one listens."

"How do we approach him?"

"I dunno, maybe just seize a moment when a good one comes?" Mantis answered.

We didn't want to surprise him, else his blade might be drawn. Interrupting him seemed almost counter productive. So, we just followed him.

Soon enough, though, he walked through the front gate of a hotel. He'd covered nearly the entire town, and it was getting late. Momentarily, I saw the image of what might have been Crane in the sky, before we went indoors.

The hotel was furnished well. Being the sole hotel in the town meant that all travelers, rich and poor, stayed here. Therefore, it was a simple but beautiful style. The furniture was all a deep colored wood, as were the decorations. A burgundy stain was used where gold plating could have been used, furthering the simple beauty.

Our target walked up to the front desk, and shared his warning with the clerk. She was a fairly tall domestic cat. She looked at him before looking back at us, as he to ask if he were threatening her. He followed her gaze, turning to see us.

"Oh my, how absolutely RUDE of me to have not noticed you!" he mocked openly, before chuckling and shaking his head. His right eye shimmered from beneath Sp his cloak. It was blue and as cloudy as a blind man's. "I need a room for one, though I don't know how much I'll be sleeping tonight with these guys around."

The clerk laughed a little, still looking at us. "Are you going to need room service while you stay?"

"I think you already know the answer." He said forcefully, his eyes began to glow a little blue.

The clerk straightened out as if her muscles all stretched at once, before relaxing and purring out, "Oh of course baby, I'll be there."

"What the...?" Mantis chirped.

With this, the cloaked man laughed, as did the clerk. Soon after though, she collapsed, breathing heavily.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?!"

"Masters," he said slyly, "You wanted to speak to me? Privately, I'd assume?"

"We'd like to wait for the rest of our group-"

"Nonsense," he cut Mantis off, as his eyes again began to glow.

The clerk suddenly stood up, a look of terror spread on her face. She clenched her fists, but her arms remained at her side. She stiffly walked around her desk, out in front of us. Her eyes had gotten a few strains of blue in them. As she neared the cloaked man, her body relaxed into a natural walk.

"This is what I can do to your bodies," both of them said. "I can take you over, and use you to my own will. But that is just the beginning." They laughed. "There are more, stronger and deeper than I, capable of taking thousands of people at once. And they hear my every word."

"Why are you telling us this?" Mantis charged. "You know we're searching right now to come destroy you and try to save people like her," he motioned to the clerk, "From you."

They both chuckled, and replied in unison, "You think this is that easy? I've already told her that she'll be free to move by herself and get out of town by the time we get here. She knows what I could do, and willingly obliged to my purpose. Why do you think I come and tell everyone of our approach? We get the smart objectors to leave. Taking people's minds out of their bodies is a last resort. For example, just by touching on Crane's mind, I convinced him not to come here. That is why we will not be waiting for them. If they just stand by, life is easier for both of us."

Mantis and I were stunned speechless. They chuckled.

"If you'd please follow me to my room~"

We shuffled after him, down the hallway toward the deluxe suites. She opened the door for him, and stuck her tongue out at us as we walked in behind him. I don't know if he was controlling her...

"What part of you finds this acceptable?" I asked him, her, them, whomever.

"Justifiable by the result, Master Viper," the man spoke, as the clerk set about preparing the room with everything possible. "We picture a perfect society, completely governed by us un-seeable eyes. By ghosting one generation, that is, raising a new generation without them knowing they were being watched, we could keep ears and eyes on every single person. A hierarchy of eyes and ears, to maintain perfect order and happiness. Every bad thought could be gently misplaced without so much as a whisper."

"No matter the intentions, that's still against freedom-"

"I didn't come to get a lesson from you. I came to present our truth, and offer an alternative. We will surrender the two Masters we have without harm, and the Western China provinces will be left alone... for the most part. We still want connection to your major cities, including the Valley. In return, we want to be unchallenged." He paused. "We needed to take these two Masters to serve as weight, as well as to test our strength. I assure you their wounds are being tended to as we speak."

"We cannot make this decision," I gasped. "We need-"

"I understand. One of you can go back to your little group and relay them the news." Mantis and I looked at each other. "The other must stay here, with me. If the group makes any aggressive action, she will be taken into our army as well." My jaw hit the floor. Mantis was equally stunned. He meant me. I glanced to the clerk, who had finished setting up a cot off to the side of the room.

"Why not take me?" He asked quickly.

"Because you will be the messenger. You are smaller and harder to see. How do you think the hotel guests would act if the Furious Five were seen waltzing through?"

"BUT-"

All of a sudden, I hissed at him. It wasn't me though. Something just told my body to do it.

"PERHAPS I HAVEN'T MADE MYSELF CLEAR," my voice yelled, though it wasn't me speaking. "SHE STAYS. YOU GO."

He had taken over my body. No asking, no sign. All of a sudden, I had no control. It confused me for a bit. His expression hadn't changed, nor had he moved or said anything. His eyes glowed a bit stronger, but that was the only indication of something happening. I'm not sure how I felt about this guy taking me over, especially so effortlessly. Part of me felt as though it were completely against the dignity of a person, where as, the other part said it was necessary for our mission.

Mantis darkly muttered, "Don't harm her," before turning and disappearing through the doorway.

...What have we gotten into?...

As quickly as I had lost it, control pumped back into me. My heart rate jumped slightly as I felt the push of adrenaline that had flown through my body.

"I've gotta go back to watch the desk," the clerk said. "I'll be back later honey."

"Alright cutie, be quick." She snickered, heading out the door.

"Its you an me baby," he cooed somewhat musically. "Though you ain't no mammal." Then he laughed. I just kinda looked at him. "Popular music out East," he explained.

"Ah..."

He sat down on the bed, unbuckling his longsword and leaning it against the wall nearby. He untied his cloak, and threw it onto the end of the bed, revealing what he actually looked like.

What stood out even before his species were the dark blue gems embedded in his fur, around his head, neck and down his back. These mystical-looking stones had a faint lighter blue light coming from deep within them. They stood out beautifully from his sandy-tan, mountain lion fur. His tail was pierced at the end, and he had rods tipped with blue gems in. The fur around each of the stones was scarred, parts still looked like they were healing. He wore dark blue and black scrappy pants, holes and rips revealing patches of fur from below.

He laid back onto the bed, exhaling. "At first, I was reluctant to join. My town was one of the first taken, back when Quelada himself joined the raiding parties. I remember when they charged into my store. 'Can I help you?' I asked. They said yes and took my body over." He looked at me. "They couldn't keep many prisoners then. Their army was too small. They focused on magicians."

"They gave me a crash course in the spells needed to take people over. And they monitored my mind, to make sure I didn't try to flee. They tested me, taking over my neighbor and bringing her in. Its hard to imagine the feeling of power that you feel the first time. As well as the feeling that you've violated them. The knowledge that they are completely powerless compared to you. But there's always the drained feeling afterward."

"Magic isn't completely fool-proof. There is always a work-around. Quelada's had numerous uprisings who broke through his spells. Heh, he's changed his name a few times just to break some spell. Part of our initiation is a spell that prevents us from changing our names, to keep us bound to him."

"If its so easy-," I started.

"Removing people from their bodies takes a lot of energy. An incredible amount, for a victim with a strong mind. To take the Five of you all at once would be a task even for Quelada. One of our strongest spell casters was sent to capture at least two of you. But for him to control such powerful minds, he had to loose all of the army weakening you-."

K.Z. was not supposed to be alive.

-I'm sure he read my thoughts.

"Well I wouldn't be surprised if he jumped the gun, anxious to try to get you all. Thank you for informing us. He now knows his error-."

"You're not going to go capture him again, are you!"

"Why? He's no use to us in the condition he's in." He said cooly.

"No revenge...?" To this, he laughed. I didn't. "At least would you be able to tell me if you slew his son?"

He stopped laughing. "Have I not made it clear that we don't promote killing? His son is probably fine. His controller probably told him that to weaken him. It works some of the time, they start getting depressed...," he trailed off.

"Well, back to the whole strength thing. Most of the spell casters such as myself were magicians before we were brought in. We were better with the mental strength thing, and therefore dealt with the mental strength better. A few other loyal subjects were taught magic, if they were fairly strong." He sighed. "It was one of these that started a fairly strong revolt."

"Why... Why are you telling me all of this?" I interrupted again.

"I dunno. It beats sitting in silence, don't it?" He paused to see my reaction. "Maybe you could find a hole, or strategize. It'll help us find our weaknesses, too."

He yawned. "That clerk and I are gonna have some fun tonight. Heh. Something about a strong man just gets the girls going huh? Before she gets too settled in for the night, you might want to inquire about getting another room."

"Oh um thank... you...?" I stammered, somewhat embarrassed. Normally people are a bit more... respectable around us.

"Just don't try to leave the hotel. That would make me quite unhappy..." He smirked. "And you do not want to make me unhappy, correct?"

-Let's not forget what all I can do,- he said in my head, again without me being able to tell he had penetrated my mind.

At exactly that time, the girl from the front desk came back in, cooing, "I'm yours to control for the night~"

"Please see Master Viper to another room before anything... escalates," he replied suggestively.

................

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A/N: Its about time I got both of these chapters out. Hopefully I'll keep up some progress. Wish me luck. Feel free to recommended stuff or tell me errors and stuff. I'll be trying to increase the word count the next chapter...


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